Letters to the Editor: Sunday, November 10, 2013

Best wishes to the new commission, supporters… Democrats wouldn’t budge to fix Obamacare… Would health exchanges be better if state-run?

Best wishes to the new commission, supportersTo the editor,

I would like to thank my family, friends and many supporters during my recent campaign for mayor. Although the outcome wasn’t what I had hoped for, I had an opportunity to meet and get to know many wonderful people in our community. All of your support is greatly appreciated.

I wish the new city commission the best for the future during these continuing challenging times for the city of Adrian.

Greg DuMarsAdrian

Democrats wouldn’t budge to fix ObamacareTo the editor,

I have read several letters to the editor from Democratic supporters telling us what a good job Obama is doing and his professed championship of the middle class. The TV news programs have inundated us with views of the president telling us lie after lie about the Obamacare Health Plan. Apparently his supporters don’t want to believe what they can see with their own eyes and hear with their own ears.

Well, I am a member of the middle class and I want to tell you how I am being treated by the illusory Obamacare program. Last week we received a letter from Blue Cross/Blue Shield informing us that our health insurance would be cancelled. Our premium is $750 per month and we were satisfied with the coverage we had. To obtain a policy that would meet the requirements of the Obama plan, the premium would be increased to $1,150 month and we have until Dec. 31 to decide what to do.

What do they think that this does to the middle class? Think of all the money that is being channeled to the insurance companies and the effect that it will have on all our middle-class merchants and employers.

Remember that the Congressional Budget Office informed the Obama administration of the pitfalls that they envisioned in the plan, but Obama’s ego prevailed and there was no attempt to correct the plan and avoid the disaster that we now face.

Where is the transparency that we were promised? The president is so busy constantly campaigning that his answer to many of the problems that have risen recently is that, “I was not aware of that.”

Remember that the Democrats have had more than three years to make the Obamacare plan effective and problem-free but they have chosen to ignore all the warnings and proclaim that their “spread the wealth” theory is working.

We deserve better!

Dianne BallAdrian

Would health exchanges be better if state-run?To the editor,

I have been going through the healthcare.gov site and trying to use the healthcare exchanges under the Affordable Care Act. I would say I am an Affordable Care Act supporter overall. I, unlike the Republicans, am willing to give it a chance to see if it can really work before saying “Obamacare” is a total failure before it even really gets started. I’m willing to give it a fair shake first.

Currently I’ve been stuck for the past couple of weeks at their ID verification step which has stopped me from progressing any further really. I kept being told that, well, it’s being “processed” and all I can do is just keep waiting and waiting.

Frustrating? Yes. However, you know, I hear like the Kentucky governor talking about their exchanges for example or like talk in some other states about their cost plans and I find my frustration, daresay anger, growing more. Why would that be?

Well, I get to wondering if my experience would be going smoother if Michigan had taken the intended state lead of setting up the health care exchanges itself (which it didn’t, in my understanding), ala say Kentucky? Had Michigan followed Kentucky’s example would this ID verification still be taking this long?

I can’t say 100 percent yes or no, of course. However, I would point to, despite even their admitted glitches at times, states that set up their own health-care exchanges themselves from the start. They’re having greater and more consistent success to my understanding. During the congressional website hearings I recall officials testifying when asked such, as well as verifying I believe the implementation principle of the states setting up their respective health exchanges under the Affordable Care Act law, not the federal government having to do it for them.

So am I frustrated with some of the rollout? Frustrated with being stuck at a step? Yes, I admit so.

Yet I feel my frustration is just as much, if not more, at my own state-elected officials and Legislature who I feel failed to really act in good-faith accordance with Affordable Care Act law. Rather then work with “Obamacare” and try to make the best of it, they pretty much chose to follow the Republican path of obstruction and tried sabotage of the Affordable Care Act law, I feel. They’re still busy fighting Obama at others’ expense.